The best way to predict which teams will make the postseason is to simply select the teams that made it the year before. Of course, picking postseason teams now a days as opposed to before 1995 is more difficult to do. The fact that it takes just 86 or 87 games for a team to guarantee themselves at least one postseason game certainly should not resonate very well with the many that played in the game from 1969-1994. Having seven teams in each division meant that only one of them would advance past game number 162 (unless there was a tie). Of course, from the start of the common era of baseball (starting in 1901 with the beginning of the American League), there was just eight teams in each league and team that finished at the top would represent their respective league in the World Series. From the years of 1961-1968, it was even more difficult. Each league had ten teams (the National League had eight in 1961) and only the team that finished with the best record would play any sort of postseason baseball. Unless there was a dynasty going on, it was more of a crap shoot to predict a team that would win a pennant before divisional play. Many teams were in the mix year after year and sometimes it would come down to just a game or two separating two very good teams. Unfortunately, just one team would play postseason baseball, while another deserving team (in some cases teams that won over 100 games) would be finished playing for the season. That proverbial crap shoot was alleviated with the start of divisional play as two teams would be guaranteed to make the postseason from each league each season. The 1970's represented a decade of very good teams, albeit a short list. The Baltimore Orioles won the World Series in 1970, won the AL Pennant in 1971, the AL East in 1973 and 1974 and the AL Pennant again in 1979. The Oakland Athletics won three consecutive World Series from 1972-1974 after winning the AL West division in 1971. Cincinnati Reds won consecutive World Series in 1975 and 1976, a feat duplicated by the New York Yankees in 1977 and 1978. Both the Reds (1970, 1972) and Yankees (1976) won additional league pennants in the decade. The Pittsburgh Pirates won it all in 1971 and 1979 and also won the NL East in 1970, 1972, 1974, and 1975. The Los Angeles Dodgers won three NL Pennants (1974, 1977, 1978). And finally, both the Philadelphia Phillies and Kansas City Royals won three consecutive division titles from 1976-1978. That means out the 40 possible division titles from 1970-1979, a total of eight teams won an amazing 30 of them! Those same eight teams won all ten World Series and managed to also represent their respective league in the World Series eight times. The point is, the 1970s were filled with quality teams; perhaps the league could be considered a little bit top heavy. The 1980s started out with the Phillies and Royals getting to their much deserved World Series, then the interesting split season, which re-matched the Yankees and Dodgers. 1982 seemed like the beginning of a new time, with the California Angels, Milwaukee Brewers, St Louis Cardinals, and Atlanta Braves all making the postseason with only the Angels being there since the end of the 1960's. And the Angels won their first and only division title just a couple years before in 1979. As the 1983 season approached, the new revolution had started. Were the Angels, Brewers, Cardinals, and Braves ready to build on superb seasons? And what about the teams getting to the postseason in 1981, mainly the Montreal Expos and the Houston Astros, two teams that had been right on the borderline of making a serious run? In addition, teams like the Reds, Yankees, Athletics, Phillies, Royals, and Dodgers had not gone away. In fact, a couple of the teams completely turned their teams over in time to make a serious run in the early 1980's. Remember, the Reds had more wins than anybody in baseball in 1981 but could not make the postseason because of the split season. One team determined to make up for a disappointing 1982 result was the Baltimore Orioles. Their longtime manager Earl Weaver had decided to retire, leading top coach and former San Francisco Giants manager Joe Altobelli to take over the team. The Orioles had won 94 games in 1982, though that was not enough to catch the first place Brewers. The Yankees had a ton of talent and were adding players left and right. Even the Red Sox, a team who had struggled to gain any sort of consistency since its American League Pennant in 1975, were treading in the right direction. Of course, it was the Orioles who would emerge out of the bunch, winning 98 games and the American League East title. While the AL East looked very competitive, the same cannot be said about the West division. The Angels, who seemed to be on their way after an exceptional 1982 season, won 23 less games in 1983. The Royals and Athletics had fallen off and neither the Twins nor Mariners were ready to compete yet. The Texas Rangers were interesting. They had a core group of young players led by George Wright and Pete O'Brien and a makeshift pitching staff featuring solid veterans like Charlie Hough, Frank Tanana, Mike Smithson, Danny Darwin, Rick Honeycutt,and Dave Stewart- the latter two traded for each other during the season. Led by a series of veterans themselves, the Chicago White Sox quickly realized they had a good path to the AL West title. Starting pitchers LaMarr Hoyt and Richard Dotson combined for 46 wins. Carlton Fisk, Jerry Koosman, Dick Tidrow, Greg Luzinski, and Tom Paciorek all were major contributors to a team not expected to be as good as the Royals, Angels, and even the Rangers. The White Sox would win the division by 20 games, their first postseason appearance since 1959. The Phillies came into the season off a great run that started in 1976. They would win three consecutive NL East titles, then win the World Series in 1980. After a NLDS loss to the Expos in 1981, the Phillies won 89 games in 1982, falling three games short of the eventual World Series Champion Cardinals. However, it seemed as if the Phillies had made the wrong decision to bring in veteran future Hall of Famers Joe Morgan and Tony Perez. The team sat just a game over .500- 85 games into the season. After General Manager Paul Owens decided to return as the field manager, the team went 17 games over.500 and won the NL East with 90 wins. John Denny won the Cy Young and Mike Schmidt hit 40 home runs. In 1981, the Dodgers rode Fernando- mania with the dominance of the lefty Valenzuela. By 1983, the team had moved on from three quarters of their star infield with Steve Garvey, Davey Lopes, and Ron Cey at this point playing for other teams. The Braves were looking pretty solid and so were the Astros. In the end, it was the Dodgers with third baseman Pedro Guerrero besting the Braves by three games and the Astros by six. As we know now, the Phillies beat the Dodgers in 4 games (3-1) and the Orioles did the same to the White Sox. The Orioles won a very anti- climatic World Series against the Phillies, finishing them off in five games (4-1). The thing that stands out most from these postseason is there was no momentum towards the following seasons. Even though the Dodgers won the World Series in 1988, they did it with a completely different team. The Orioles won 85 games in 1984 and 83 in 1985, but fell off drastically after that and would not make the postseason again until 1996. The Phillies got a couple more good seasons out of Steve Carlton and Schmidt, including a 1986 MVP, but would have to completely change the makeup of their team. That resulted in their next postseason appearance which was in 1993, though the team did not build on its World Series appearance in the subsequent seasons. The White Sox would decide to fire Tony LaRussa as manager in 1986, proof that Hawk Harrelson was a much better broadcaster than GM. The White Sox would appear in the same postseason as the Phillies in 1993, but lost to the Toronto Blue Jays in the ALCS. Every year teams surprise and exceed what the preseason expectations are. And it is also true that we see teams all the time that are pretty much giving it their last shot to win, knowing (though not admitting) that their future is now. What the 1983 baseball season showed us was that teams that had success in the past can give it one more shot. The Phillies and Dodgers showed us that. The fact that three of the four teams in the 1983 postseason would not make it back for at least ten years says a lot. In fact, that has not happened to this day, even with the expanded playoff format increasing the amount of playoff teams first to four in each league and now five.

If you were a fan of the Philadelphia Phillies in the 1970s, the connection between Paul Owens, Danny Ozark and Dallas Green is probably something you will never forget. If you are not, but are a knowledgeable baseball fan, you could say that Ozark, Green and Owens all managed the Phillies (at one point, in succession). All three led the Phillies to the postseason, led by Ozark, who was the manager of the team in the 1976-1978 seasons. All three resulted in NL East titles for the Phillies- though they lost to the Reds in 1976 and the Dodgers in 1977-1978 in the NLCS. Green would lead the Phillies to the 1980 World Series title and in 1981, made the postseason by winning the NL East in the first half of the strike shortened split season. They lost to the Montreal Expos in the first ever divisional round in postseason history. And it was Owens who returned to the Phillies dugout in the 1983 season replacing Pat Corrales. The 1983 Phillies made it back to the World Series, losing in five games to the Baltimore Orioles. If you follow your Phillies baseball history, you would understand the impact of that run of baseball from the years of 1976-1983. Winning a World Series, two NL Pennants and five and a half division titles in eight years will never be mistaken for a dynasty. But prior to 1976, the Phillies epitomized what it meant to be a second division ball club. Since their NL inception in 1883, the team had only been part of only two postseasons before 1976. In fact, it took the franchise 32 years to win their first NL Pennant in 1915 (where they lost in five games to the Boston Red Sox) in spite of having some of the better players to play in their respective generations (Ed Delahanty, Pete Alexander, Billy Hamilton, Dummy Hoy, Gavvy Cravath, Sherry McGee, among others). It would take them another 35 years before the Whiz Kid bunch made it to the series in 1950 when they may have beaten the mighty New York Yankees if Curt Simmons (a guest on the Passed Ball Show- www.johnpielli.com) had been allowed to pitch in the WS. 26 years passed before the Phillies made another postseason appearance. It was the combination of Owens, Ozark and Green who allowed for the team to regain its form. The 1972 season saw the hapless Phillies finish off a 59-97 season in spite of having the best pitcher in the sport. Steve Carlton (27-10, 1.97) pitched to a .730 winning percentage. The Phillies, at 32-87, had a .368 WP in games in which Carlton did not get a decision in. It was June of that season where the Phillies made a change, relieving GM Jack Quinn and (later on) manager Frank Lucchesi of their duties. The fate of the team changed when Owens was promoted to General Manager. Owens had been in the Phillies organization as early as 1955 as a minor league manager and was the farm director of the team when the change was made. Owens named himself manager for the rest of the season so he could see for himself what the root of the Phillies problem was. Completely deserved, most of the praise of the Phillies success from 1976-1983 has been given to Owens. He started his rebuilding of the franchise in 1973 when he named Green the Director of Scouting and Ozark the manager. Ozark led the ball club in 1973 to a 71-91 record. 1974 saw the team grow to 80 wins, a 9 game improvement. The following season, the Phillies were 86-76. They went from 6th place to 3rd place to 2nd place in the first three seasons under Ozark. Finally, the 1976 Phillies erupted for 101 wins, just one less than the mighty Big Red Machine. Of course, the Phillies that season were a flea on the back of a Reds team poised for a second consecutive World Series title. But finally, all the hard work by Owens, Green and Ozark had paid off. In 1977, the Phillies had a little harder to work but managed to win the same 101 games and hold off the Pittsburgh Pirates by 5 games to take the NL East. The LA Dodgers finished the regular season three wins less than the Philadelphia Phillies. However, the Dodgers beat the Phillies 3 games to 1 in the NLCS. The following season saw the Phillies drop to 90-72. They were able to hold off the Pirates by 1.5 games to take their third straight division title. It seemed like a repeat of the season before when the Phillies lost in the NLCS to the Dodgers in 4 games and the Dodgers lost to the Yankees in the World Series. Owens thought of a plan to help an underachieving offense. See, with power hitters like Mike Schmidt and Greg Luzinski, in spite of the home runs and runs driven in, the team hit .258 for the 1978 season. For a perennial playoff team, thought was they could improve on the batting average and .328 on base percentage. They added the future all time hits leader Pete Rose and he hit .331 for the 1979 Phillies. Unfortunately, it was a disappointing season for Philadelphia as they finished 4th in the NL East with an 84-78 record. And the decision was made to relieve Ozark of his duties after 132 games and replace him with Green. As the Phillies were on their way to their first World Series Championship in 1980, the mood in the clubhouse was suspect at best. Green challenged his players to a point where there was a lot of dissension among the players. Green was a leader, but wanted to lead his way. He was not looking to make friends- was not interested in camaraderie. When the Phillies beat the Houston Astros in the best played, most evenly matched five game series the game had ever seen, Green was one of the first out of the dugout and was jumping up and down with the players on the field. As they finished off the Royals in game 6 of the WS, the job had been completed. Owens had guided the team to the championship and Green had run the scouting department since the start and was behind the bench for the last two plus seasons. The only one not to bask in the glory was Ozark, who by that time was coaching under Dodgers manager Tom Lasorda (PBS guest- www.johnpielli.com). The Phillies remained competitive throughout the early part of the 1980s, with Green leading the team to the postseason in 1981 and Owens leading the team to the 1983 World Series. No doubt that it was Owens who deserves most of the credit, but Green was part of the front office for many years that helped develop the players that turned the Phillies around. And the 1970s was a time where a manager really did matter- unlike in the game today. It is no coincidence that managers had a tendency for staying around with a respective club much longer then than they do now. Ozark had a pulse of the team and most liked to play for him. It truly was the combination of the three that led the Philadelphia Phillies to their best stretch in the history of the franchise. And that includes the most recent 2007-2011 teams.

Among all time last names for a baseball player- a name that is prominent with what a baseball player does- Stan Hack can perhaps fit that description. The term "hack" has been used to describe a player that swings at most pitches, almost to a fault. Regardless, the last name Hack sounds like the last name of a baseball player, separating most other professions outside of perhaps a lumberjack. I have done a couple of pieces on some underrated Cubs players, such as World Series Champion Frank Schulte and longtime 1B and manager Charlie Grimm. In my opinion, both should be honored by the Cubs organization for being some of the best to ever play for the team. While both Schulte and Grimm deserve to have their number retired, it is understandable- to a point- of why the Cubs have not done so. Schulte played in a time where no uniform numbers were issued and Grimm played his first seven seasons with the Cubs and first 15 MLB seasons overall all before numbers were put on uniforms. Stan Hack played his entire 16 year career with the Chicago Cubs. The third baseman was not a power hitter by any stretch of the imagination. But few were during the time he played. Hack was a 4 time all star and the fact that he finished in the top 26 in the National League MVP voting 8 years in a row proves that he was one of the top third basemen, if not overall position players, in the entire National League. A .301 career hitter, Stan had 2193 career hits, 1239 career runs scored and despite just 165 career stolen bases, he twice led the NL and managed to finish 2nd three other times during his career. In the years of 1940 and 1941, Hack led the NL in hits. The lack of not just home run hitting ability (more triples, 81, than home runs, 57) but also the fact that he did not have a lot of extra base hits is likely the main reason Stan Hack has not gotten a lot of Hall of Fame consideration. His numbers overall are not Hall of Fame worthy. That being a fact, he was still one of the top third basemen of his era. When Hack retired after the 1947 season, he had recorded the highest on base percentage for a 3B in the history in MLB at .394 (surpassed in 2001 by Atlanta's Chipper Jones). He also had more walks than any other 3B to ever play before him and ranked 4th in the history of MLB in the stat when he retired. Pittsburgh Pirates 3B and Hall of Famer Pie Traynor set the standard for what was the bar in regards to 3B. Traynor's career was nearing the end when Hack's was beginning. Traynor finished his career with 2416 hits and hit .320 for his career. He hit only 58 HR and his career OPS was .797. Hack's was .791. What Traynor lacked in OBP he made up for in slugging percentage, as he finished his career with 371 2B, 165 3B to go with the 58 HR. Hack finished with 363, 81, 57- a total of 93 less extra base hits than Traynor had. Hack walked 1092 times to Traynor's 472, which explains why the OPSs are so similar. Add in the fact that Hack only struck out 466 times in his 16 year career, the term "hack" does not fit in with his last name. The point is that Hack and Traynor were the top offensive 3B of their time. Ron Santo and Ken Boyer would hit for more power while manning the position and of course, Eddie Mathews and Mike Schmidt would take the offensive expectations to a different level. Looking back at where Hack ranked when he retired, he does deserve a little more credit for being as good of an offensive player he was. He was good defensively, but not exceptional, though he led the NL in fielding percentage twice, range factor twice, double plays turned three times, putouts four times and assists twice in his career. Is Stan Hack an all time 3B? Of course not. But he was one of the NL's top third basemen in the history of the game at the time he retired in 1947. In addition, he played in 4 World Series and managed to hit .348, including a .471 clip in 1938 against the Yankees. Because of the fact the offensive production expected out of a 3B has risen over the years, there is a chance many of the contemporary baseball fans may not know the impact Stan Hack had on the game of baseball.

The 1977 Philadelphia Phillies managed to win 101 games, the most in the National League, and seemed destined to return to the World Series for the first time in 27 years. The team hit .279 collectively, with Mike Schmidt the only regular player who hit less than .281 (.274). This team also got a lot out of OF Bake McBride, who came over in a mid season deal from St Louis and hit .339 in his 85 games in a Phillies uniform. Back up C Tim McCarver hit .320 and 1B Davey Johnson hit .321- both predominantly coming off the bench. Pinch hit specialist Tommy Hutton hit .309 and did a fantastic job. Of course, the team still had the great Steve Carlton (23-10, 2.64, 198 Ks, 17 CG)- on his way to his second Cy Young Award. While the rest of the starting staff was marginal at best, they did get 19 wins from Larry Christenson and big performances on occasions from Jim Lonborg and Jim Kaat. The bullpen had a solid trio of Gene Garber, Ron Reed and Tug McGraw who made up for some of the shortfalls of the back of the starting rotation. Regardless of any questions of the starting staff, this was a very good baseball team. They made their first postseason appearance since 1950 a year earlier. They just so happened to run into the Big Red Machine on Cincinnati's way to their second consecutive World Series Championship. But 1977 seemed different. The Reds had stumbled through a down season and won only 88 games, leading the way for the Los Angeles Dodgers to win the NL West Division. The Dodgers had a very good team themselves, but the Phillies were the favorites in the NLCS. The Phillies got off to a good start in game 1, taking a 5-1 lead into the 7th inning with their ace Carlton on the mound. Unfortunately, he was unable to hold the lead as Ron Cey hit a grand slam off him to tie the score. However, in the 9th inning, the Phillies scored a run on a Schmidt single and another on a balk in route to a 7-5 victory. Game 2 seemed like a long shot off the bat, as Longborg didn't have his stuff and was out by the 5th inning, down 5-1. What made matters more difficult was the fact that Don Sutton was pitching well and would go the distance in a 7-1 victory. The setting was set for game 3, where the NLCS shifted to Philadelphia. The Phillies were in the driver's seat after getting a split in LA. The next three games were to be played in Philadelphia, due to the standard 2-3 LCS format. The pitching matchup was Burt Hooton against Christenson. The Dodgers opened the scoring with 2 in the second. The Phillies followed with three of their own, chasing Hooten as he was relieved by Rick Rhoden. After the Dodgers tied the game in the forth, the score remained tied until the Phillies came to bat in the 8th inning. The Phillies got to the struggling Elias Sosa in the 8th inning, scoring a run on a Garry Maddox single and another thanks to a throwing error by Cey. The Phillies were up 5-3 with their top relief pitcher in the game in Gene Garber. Garber had pitched two scoreless innings of relief, retiring all 6 batters he faced. And Garber would retire the first two batters to face him to start the 9th inning. The setting is set- 2 outs, nobody on- up 5-3. Tommy Lasorda calls catcher Steve Yeager back and sends up Vic Davalillo. Davalillo is a veteran who has become a very reliable pinch hitter for the Dodgers, even though he had not played in the big leagues in 1975 and 1976. Davalillo laid down a bunt and beat it out for a hit. Manny Mota, who has long been considered the greatest pinch hitter of all time, would be up next to bat for the pitcher. Mota would hit a double to score Davalillo and advanced to third on a dropped relay to second baseman Ted Sizemore. Davey Lopes reached on an infield hit scoring Mota to tie the game. Then the Phillies had an chance to end the inning as Garber had Lopes picked off first. Had he not made an errant throw, the Phillies would have gotten out of the inning with the game tied. And if that happened, they would have had a chance to win the game with a run in the bottom of the 9th inning. Instead, the throwing error moved Lopes into scoring position. Bill Russell's single up the middle gave the Dodgers the lead. The Phillies, who seemed shell shocked after the events of the last inning, seemed to have nothing to challenge reliever Mike Garman. With two outs and nobody on, Garman hit Luzinski before retiring Richie Hebner on a ground ball to end the game. Had the Phillies held on and won game 3, the series could have been theirs. Game 4 went to the Dodgers as Tommy John out dueled Carlton, winning 4-1 and the series 3-1. Had the Phillies been up 2-1 after 3, I truly believe the series would have been different. And who knows, maybe the Phillies match up better against the Yankees. I still think 1977 was the Yankees season, but there would have been some intrigue in the rematch of the 1950 Series when the Yankees swept the Phillies. But the truth is, the Phillies still had to win another game, which they ultimately did not do. Looking over the video of the Dodgers half of the 9th inning of this game, I have some issues with the official scoring on three particular plays. Obviously, the scoring of the plays have nothing to do with the outcome of the game, but I think the scoring of the plays better tells the story of what happened. Of course, the failed catch by Luzinski was a huge play in the inning. It was correctly scored a double off the bat of Mota, but I feel the scorer was too quick to rule an error on the throw to second that allowed Mota to get to third and possibly Davalillo to score. The error was given to Sizemore, but I feel it should have been given to Luzinski on the throw. Second was the infield hit by Lopes. This is the classic "hometown scoring" by declaring that an hit. Yes, it was a tough play for Schmidt, but the fact is it deflected off him to the SS and should have been scored an error. The official scorer didn't want to punish the man who had already made some great plays to save runs throughout the series. Finally, on the pick off play to first that resulted in Lopes going to second- I don't see why it was such a sure thing that Lopes was going to be out on the pick off throw by Garber. Yes, the error allowed Lopes to reach second but I would not have awarded a pick off because there is no proof he would have been out on a good throw. Going back to the Lopes "hit," using the super slow motion replays we have now could have proven that he was out. But if he was out, it was by a millimeter.

Derek Jeter announced through his Facebook page that he will retire after the 2014 season, his last on his current contract with the New York Yankees. Jeter's record speaks for itself, so there is no need to recap his accomplishments. Nobody will argue the fact that he will be a Hall of Fame player; his election on the first ballot is just about a lock. Jeter's retirement tour is something that is worthy to the player, one of the best the game has seen in a long time. The problem is now the current MLB season is about a player who is leaving after its conclusion as opposed to the action on the field. MLB has done it before as players have been given their respect for their last big league season. Among recent players, Tony Gwynn and Cal Ripken come to mind as they both got the credit they deserve during the 2001 season. Chipper Jones announced before the 2012 season that it would be his last. That was followed by Mariano Rivera in 2013. See the pattern. If Jeter had not done this after the prior two players got lavish gifts and ballpark tributes throughout the league, I would have no point saying anything about it. We might as well call 2012 Chipper Jones, 2013 Mariano Rivera and 2014 Derek Jeter. While fans take their time to say goodbye to the future Hall of Famers, it is taking away from the action on the field. Current Hall of Fame inductees Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine did not have a season tour. Mike Schmidt announced his retirement after a game in 1989 after he felt he could no longer play to his demands. Imagine the tourist attractions if guys like Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, Mickey Mantle and others announced before the season that they would retire. Ted Williams announced his retirement before the 1961 season. Few others got the send off Williams, Gwynn and Ripken and most recently Jones and Rivera got. I hope this does not become a trend that every season becomes dedicated to a player. The focus should be on the current and future of the game and its subsequent pennant races. I do think MLB has something to do with this. They are making enough money. Congratulations to Derek Jeter for a fantastic career. But similar to Jones and Rivera, I don't need to be reminded about it every day of the season.

I was inspired by a question posed on one of the baseball pages yesterday, thinking about how most, if not all MLB teams that have Hall of Famers that represented their organizations likely have that one player that is their all time player. Teams like the Yankees, Dodgers, Red Sox, Tigers, Giants and others can say that there were more than one player that can be spoken about as their all time player. There are many ways this can be done. Should I include pitchers or just position players? I think it will create a better debate if we include pitchers on this list as well. I will first mention every existing franchise right now, including the Braves when they were in Boston and Milwaukee, the Athletics when they were in Philadelphia, the Orioles when they were in St Louis, the Twins when they were in Washington, the Rangers when they were in Washington and the Nationals when they were in Montreal. This will lead for a great debate and remember, only one player can represent each franchise. Atlanta Braves: The Braves have had their share of Hall of Famers, including Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine, who will be enshrined this season. Eddie Matthews was dominant and Chipper Jones should be in on the first ballot. It is a close race between Hank Aaron and Warren Spahn. Spahn was the greatest left handed pitcher to ever pitch in the game. But he ranks behind many of the other top pitchers and was not an immortal. Aaron was an immortal. Not just because of his 755 HRs, but because of where he ranks in all the other offensive categories. Aaron is in the discussion of the top ten offensive players to ever play in the history of the game. Atlanta Braves: Hank Aaron Washington Nationals (Montreal Expos): This comes down to the two players who made the Hall after starring with the Expos. Andre Dawson had some very good seasons, but there were several outfielders who were as good. Few catchers were in the same as Gary Carter. The answer to the question of why Carter went into the Hall as an Expo is because he was the greatest player they ever had. The same could not be said about the Mets. It also helped that he played with the Expos longer. Washington Nationals (Montreal Expos): Gary Carter New York Mets: Not much of a debate here. Many Hall of Fame players played for the Mets, but few were known as Mets. Gary Carter would be the second choice, but Seaver is called "the franchise" for a reason. New York Mets: Tom Seaver Philadelphia Phillies: Mike Schmidt and Steve Carlton would get the nod if we were talking about the top Phillies HOF player after 1950 though Robin Roberts and Richie Ashburn would get some consideration. But in my opinion, I think it is a no brainer to choose from the list of Chuck Klein, Pete Alexander and Ed Delahanty. Klein had five of the most dominant consecutive seasons to start a career ever. Alexander managed to win 190 games in his first 8 big league seasons. But to me, Delahanty gets the nod. Some may dispute the fact that his career started in the late 1880s, but he hit .347 for his career. He hit over .400 three times. And based on the grey ink test, he was a top player in the entire National League. Philadelphia Phillies: Ed Delahanty Miami Marlins (Florida Marlins): Andre Dawson missed out in a close race in Montreal (Washington). He gets the nod in Miami because of default. He is the only Hall of Fame player to put on a Marlins uniform. Miami Marlins (Florida Marlins): Andre Dawson St Louis Cardinals: Many players made the Hall of Fame after starring for the Cardinals. None stand out like Rogers Hornsby and Stan Musial. The Cardinals fans would choose Musial by a landslide, as he spent his entire 22 year career with the team. Hornsby was dominant in the 1920s and was the first National League star. Hornsby hit .358 for his career, .359 in a Cardinals uniform. While I was leaning towards Hornsby, Musial did hit .331, finished with 3630 career hits, the highest total in NL history until 1985. He also hit 475 HRs, won 3 NL MVPs and 3 World Series titles. St Louis Cardinals: Stan Musial Milwaukee Brewers (Seattle Pilots): One guy stands out in the history of the Brewers and that is Robin Yount. Paul Molitor had a great career, but spent his last several seasons with other organizations. I don't think this one is close. Milwaukee Brewers (Seattle Pilots): Robin Yount Cincinnati Reds: This is an interesting choice because players like Frank Robinson, Johnny Bench, Joe Morgan and Ernie Lombardi could all make a case to be the one. Bench, based on power numbers, is the greatest offensive catcher in the Hall of Fame today. Morgan is one of the top second basemen to ever play the game. Should I go with Bench because of his longevity? Morgan gets consideration even though he only played 8 seasons with the Reds, as those were by far the best he had in his career. I am going with Robinson based on his ten seasons with the Reds. Only once in those 10 seasons did he hit less than 29 HR and drive in less than 83 runs. He won a ROY and MVP, three times leading the NL in OPS. He was the start of the Big Red Machine. Cincinnati Reds: Frank Robinson Chicago Cubs: While Billy Williams, Ferguson Jenkins (guest on Passed Ball Show) and others have their place in the team's history, there is only one "Mr. Cub." Chicago Cubs: Ernie Banks Pittsburgh Pirates: The Pirates are an interesting choice. Guys like Willie Stargell, Paul Waner and even Pie Traynor and Arky Vaughan deserve consideration. To me, it comes down to Roberto Clemente and Honus Wagner. While Wagner played, he was considered the best player in the entire league. Clemente was one of the most special players to ever play in this game. This is a very close race, but in the end, I go with Wagner based on where he ranked in the entire game. In the dead ball era, there were few better players in the game. Pittsburgh Pirates: Honus Wagner Los Angeles Dodgers (Brooklyn Dodgers): The Dodgers, in my opinion, have the biggest debate among their Hall of Famers. They have had several great players, but no all timers. I think a case can be made that Jackie Robinson could hold the title, but he only played 10 seasons. The same applies to Sandy Koufax. Dazzy Vance pitched 18 seasons for Brooklyn and was the 1924 NL MVP. But Don Sutton won 233 games for the team. While Robinson was the most popular and remembered player for the Dodgers during his time, Duke Snider was among the best in the entire sport. Snider wins by the narrowest of margins. Los Angeles Dodgers (Brooklyn Dodgers): Duke Snider San Francisco Giants (New York Giants): It is a two horse race. Christi Mathewson and Willie Mays. Barry Bonds has immortal numbers, but may not get into the Hall. Willie McCovey was a terrific hitter. I thought it was a no brainer to take Mays, until I broke down Mathewson's career. He won 372 of his 373 games wearing a Giants uniform. I cannot ignore his numbers, which include an ERA of 2.13 for his career. Those who say it was because of the dead ball era are right except he led the league in ERA 5 times, WHIP 4 times, K/BB ratio 9 times, completed 465 games and threw 78 shutouts. I take Mathewson in an upset of public opinion. San Francisco Giants (New York Giants): Christy Mathewson Colorado Rockies: The Rockies are the only current team in MLB to have never had a future Hall of Fame player play for them. Todd Helton is an interesting candidate as he becomes eligible in five years. Larry Walker is a solid candidate, but is having difficulty gaining traction from the BBWAA. Colorado Rockies: none Arizona Diamondbacks: Roberto Alomar becomes the second player to have the honor of being the Hall of Famer for two different teams (Nolan Ryan). He gets the technicality for being the only Hall of Famer to put on a Diamondbacks uniform. That should change next season when Randy Johnson is expected to be in inducted. Oddly enough, Johnson will actually take the honor for both the Diamondbacks and the Seattle Mariners. Arizona Diamondbacks: Roberto Alomar San Diego Padres: Not much to say here, but the best player to ever put on a San Diego Padres uniform takes an easy win in this one. San Diego Padres: Tony Gwynn

The postseason awards are honestly becoming an annoying way to posture why one thinks a player is better than another. Within the last three seasons, both the Cy Young and league MVP discussions have changed from being an award that simply goes to the best pitcher or hitter in each league to one that depends on which stat you choose to go with. The sabermetric community likes to discredit stats such as pitcher wins and runs batted in, which to a point is justifiable, but no one ever talks about the fact a pitcher has to pitch well to win a lot of games and a batter has to actually drive said runs in. It can be debated all day, but the problem lies with the vague definition of the awards. What do you mean by best pitcher or most valuable player? Because there is no set criteria for each award, many choose to use their own definition of the award. I feel confident that the AL MVP over the past two seasons was and should have been Miguel Cabrera. I think those who thought that Mike Trout should have won had a better case last season than this season. While I think Cabrera was correctly voted AL MVP, I understand the debate for Trout. Trout plays excellent defense, steals bases and probably does more different things to help the Angels than Cabrera does for the Tigers. In spite of Trout, the Angels still finished at 78-84. The critics say Trout did not have much to help him, but I do feel that the success of a team matters, at least to some extent. One who feels Trout should have won the award should agree that the numbers and production of the two are at least in the same ballpark. When that is the case, it is more important to factor in what the players impact had on a team. Part of the reason I disagree with the choice for the NL MVP is the fact that it was simply given to Andrew McCutchen because the Pirates made the playoffs in 2013. Like I said before, I think a team's success should factor in to the vote, but only if the players had comparable seasons. Yadier Molina's value to the St Louis Cardinals cannot be stated more, and maybe he could have been a possibility if there was not a candidate that stood out. But in 2013, there was a player who performed clearly above the rest. Paul Goldschmidt had an outstanding season, one which saw his numbers rank higher than McCutchen in just about every category. The Diamondbacks finished 81-81 and missed the playoffs, which is what cost Goldschmidt his due consideration. Lets break down the number of Goldschmidt and McCutchen and you make the logical decision, unless the award has changed to be the best player on a team to make the playoffs. I guess that is still up for debate. McCutchen had a solid season, won the Silver Slugger Award and made the All Star team. In 157 games, McCutchen scored 97 runs, had 185 hits, 38 2Bs, 21 HR and 84 RBI. He had a .317 avg, .404 OBP and .508 SLG for a .912 OPS. Goldschmidt played in 160 games, scored 103 runs, had 182 hits, 36 2B, and led the NL in HRs (36) and RBIs (125). I can hear the sabermetrics people scoffing now. Driving in 125 runs, which by the way, nobody else in the NL did, does not mean the player was valuable. In fact, what a lousy performance! I hope you pick up my sarcasm. But even if you choose to disregard the RBI stat, which you have every right to do, Goldschmidt had a .401 OBP and led the league in both slugging percentage (.551) and OPS (.952). He also led the NL with his 160 OPS+ and 332 total bases. McCutchen was close (158) in OPS+, but not close in the other categories. One may want to bring the defensive element into play, like they do with Trout. Ok, McCutchen did not win a Gold Glove Award this season, but Goldschmidt did. That should count for something. The only way one can justify McCutchen getting the award this season is because he played on a superior team. I'd like to use that as a tiebreaker if the numbers are close. They were not in this case. Goldschmidt should have been the clear winner, with no tiebreaker needed. Going back 27 and 26 years ago, respectively, I understand that there were no extensive stats to go by. But the voting system changed. When Mike Schmidt and Andre Dawson won the NL MVP in 1986 and 1987, they got the award because they were the best players in their respective leagues. If we were using today's formula of "you have to make the playoffs to win an award," Glenn Davis of the Astros and Gary Carter and Keith Hernandez of the Mets would have finished 1-3. In 1987, the same could have been said about St Louis' Ozzie Smith and Jack Clark and San Francisco's Will Clark. I get the change from a sabermetric perspective, but Goldschmidt was a better offensive player than McCutchen this season and was also the best defensive 1B in the NL. I understand that Goldschmidt cannot play CF like McCutchen, but he is the best defensively at his position. Don't the sabermetric guys like to incorporate defense into these votes? A guy that wins a GG and leads the league in OPS, OPS+ and total bases should be the most valuable player.

One of the most offensively intensive games, maybe in all of MLB history, involved the Cubs and Phillies in Wrigley on May 17, 1979. MLB Network ranked this game #20 on the list of 20 greatest games of the last 50 years in 2010. Though I was not born yet (game happened less than five months before I was born), so much happened in this game to not recap. Just a reminder of where the baseball world was at that time. The two time defending World Series Champions were the New York Yankees, who had beat the Los Angeles Dodgers for the second straight season. The Yankees would suffer a big loss this season as their captain, Thurman Munson, would die in a plane crash in August of this year. The Pittsburgh Pirates would defeat the Baltimore Orioles in this season's fall classic in a rematch of the 1971 WS. The Phillies and Cubs would finish the season 4th and 5th place, respectively in the NL East. The Phillies would see their streak of 3 straight NL East titles end as well as change managers from Danny Ozark to Dallas Green. Cubs manager Herman Franks would also be replaced that season behind the bench. Joey Amalfitano, who would later join Tommy Lasorda's coaching staff for several years, would take over for Franks with 7 games to go in the 1979 season. Franks would never manage in the big leagues again while Ozark would finish off the 1984 season behind the bench for the San Francisco Giants. The most well documented part of this game was the fact that the wind was blowing out at Wrigley Field in Chicago. The game did not get off to the best of starts as the Phillies scored 7 runs in the first inning of Cubs starter Dennis Lamp, knocking him out of the game. Mike Schmidt and Bob Boone homered off Lamp, with Phillies starting pitcher Randy Lerch homering off Donnie Moore (yes, that Donnie Moore) to cap the scoring. The Cubs rallied, though, and scored 6 of their own in the bottom of the inning, ending Lerch's night. Dave Kingman would hit a 3 run HR, while Moore would partially redeem himself with an RBI triple of reliever Doug Bird. Amazingly, even with 7 and 6 runs scored, respectively, each team sent just 10 men to the plate. The second inning would go mysteriously scoreless for both teams. Philadelphia was back at it in the 3rd. RBI singles by Boone and Bake McBride made the game 9-6 and a 2 run Pete Rose 2B chased Moore. Willie Hernandez, another 1980s dominant closer, would give up a run on a groundout and then a 3 run HR by Garry Maddox, making it 15-6 Phillies. The Cubs would strand a single in the 3rd, sending the Phillies back to bat in the 4th. RBI doubles by Rose and Maddox made it 17-6. The game had to be over at this point, right? In the bottom of the 4th, Kingman hits his 2nd HR of the game, a 2 run shot and 3B Steve Ontiveros follows with a solo blast making it 17-9. Both HRs came off Bird, who was still in the game. Hernandez was still on the ropes in the 5th inning as a Larry Bowa 2B gave the Phillies another run. However, the Phillies scored their next 3 runs off an error and 2 sacrifice flies. It still made the game 21-9, giving the Phillies their second lead of 11 runs or more of the game. Phillies manager Ozark decided it was time to go to his closer, Tug McGraw, in the bottom of the 5th inning. You can trust your closer to protect a 12 run lead, right? Not in this game. The Cubs quickly filled the bases and after a bases loaded walk, Bill Buckner hits a grand slam, bringing the Bears closer to the Eagles, 21-13. CF Jerry Martin hit a 3 run HR and after catcher Barry Foote doubled, McGraw's day was done after recording just two outs. After Ron Reed came in and got the last out for the Phillies, Cubs reliever Bill Caudill got himself out of a jam in the top of the 6th. It was the first time since the 2nd inning that Philadelphia did not score. The Cubs were back at in their half of the 6th. A single and double started the inning, with the Cubs scoring runs on consecutive ground outs. Reed had two outs and nobody on, but up comes Kingman to hit his 3rd HR of the game and all of the sudden the game was 21-19. Without checking the records, I would find it hard to see two teams scoring 40 runs in the first 6 innings of the game. For the pace of this game, the last 3 innings (plus the 10th) were kind of boring. The Phillies would add themselves a run in the 7th with an RBI double by Boone, making it 22-19. Reed gets a double play ball to get himself out of the bottom of the inning unscaved. Cubs reliever Ray Burris comes into the 8th, giving up a Rose leadoff single but retiring the next three to get out of the inning. Reed is left in the game for the Phillies in the bottom of the 8th. The Cubs once again break through, as RBI singles by Buckner, Martin and Foote tie up the game. The Cubs go to their closer, Bruce Sutter, to pitch the 9th. Sutter would give up a walk, but no runs as the Phillies failed to score. Rawly Eastwick came in to pitch for the Phillies in the bottom of the 9th. Eastwick would do what no other pitcher was able to do to that point, get a 1-2-3 inning. Sutter comes back out for the 10th, retiring Bowa and Rose with ease. Then Schmidt hits a solo HR (2nd of the game) to give the Phillies the lead again. Eastwick comes back out and gets another 1-2-3 inning to preserve the game. Final score: Phillies 23, Cubs 22, 10 innings, WP- Eastwick LP- Sutter. Outside of the score, what impressed me the most was the well known relievers that were used throughout the game. The Cubs used Moore, Hernandez and Sutter, while the Phillies had McGraw; with Moore, Hernandez (the eventual 1984 AL Cy Young Winner) and McGraw all looking like minor league pitchers, at least for the day. They pitched a combined 5 1/3 IP and gave up a total of 22 runs, 17 ER! Veterans like Tim McCarver, Bobby Murcer, Mike Vail and Greg Luzinski all came off the bench, with Bud Harrelson not getting in this game. As far as a regular season game goes, it was certainly one of the most exciting games one will ever see. A total of 11 HRs were hit in this game, 5 by the Phillies (2 by Schmidt, Boone, Maddox and Lerch) and 6 by the Cubs (3 by Kingman, Buckner, Martin and Ontiveros). 45 runs, 50 hits, 10 2Bs and 2 3Bs, 15 walks to go with just 11 strikeouts.

When it comes to the greatest offensive players in the history of the Philadelphia Phillies franchise, RF Chuck Klein deserves to be in the discussion. Many players to choose from, as the team came into existence in 1890 (known as the Philadelphia Quakers from 1893-1889). Mike Schmidt, Richie Ashburn, Greg Luzinski, Del Ennis, Ed Delahanty and Ryan Howard are among the top offensive players when it comes to the most important all time organizational stats. Klein, who played in the majors from 1928-1944, mostly with the Phillies, had a five season stretch that is impossible to duplicate. To prove that point, I will highlight the five best seasons of Howard and Schmidt and compare them to Klein's first five. Schmidt, of course, finished his career with 548 HRs and Howard hit 45 or more HRs 4 of the 5 seasons. Klein had a start to his career with 200 hit seasons that could be compared to a modern day Ichiro. He drove in a lot of runs, scored a lot of runs and had ridiculous OPS and total bases. Though the numbers are unbelievable, it has to be mentioned Klein had the benefit of playing his home games in the Baker Bowl. The Baker Bowl was considered the first of its kind as it was called a "Cigar Box" or "Band Box". It was a small ballpark where the hitters had a distinct advantage. Neither here nor there, but it was also considered one of the unsafest ballparks as the lack of maintenance led to two incidents where material fell from the stadium, one leading to 11 deaths. But before I bring up Klein's first five seasons, here are the top five seasons of both Schmidt and Howard, skipping Schmidt's MVP season of 1981 because of the abbreviated season (which obviously would skew the numbers against him had they been included). Schmidt without a doubt is the greatest offensive player to ever put on a Phillies uniform. His 548 HRs and 96.5% of the Hall of Fame vote in his first year eligibility speak for itself. His best consecutive seasons range from 1979-1984. He won the NL MVP in 1980 and 1981, as well as 1986. Not including 1981 (for the reason I mentioned earlier), Schmidt hit 204 HRs from 1979-1984 and drove in 537 runs. He scored 518 runs and had 720 hits, with 114 2B and 22 3B. He compiled a total of 1491 total bases. Howard had his run from 2006-2010. His 229 HRs were more than both Schmidt and Klein. His 680 RBI over that span was outstanding. He scored 495 runs, got 801 hits and had a modest 137 2Bs and 14 3Bs. While Schmidt's average OPS was higher, Howard had more total bases with 1653. The 1920s and early 1930s were known as a new age with the live ball era. Klein, from 1929-1933, recorded 180 HRs in that span. He had 693 RBIs, 658 RS, 1118 hits, 232 2Bs, 46 3B and 1982 total bases. No doubt the five consecutive greatest seasons in the history of the Philadelphia Phillies.

A couple of months ago, I wrote about another former MLB player with the first name of Aurelio, Aurelio Lopez, a pitcher for the Tigers and Astros who was also known as "Senor Smoke". Aurelio Rodriguez managed to play in over 2000 games and was one of the more underrated defensive 3B to play within the last 50 years. Part of that reason had to do with Brooks Robinson, who was the best defensive 3B to ever play this game. It was Rodriguez who ended Brooks' consecutive Gold Glove Award run when he took the award in 1976.

Rodriguez stuck around in the majors for nearly 17 seasons, and hit just .237 for his career. He spent the majority of his career as the everyday 3B for the Detroit Tigers, but also spent some time with California, Washington, San Diego, the Yankees, the White Sox and Baltimore. His best offensive season was in 1970, when he hit .249, 19, 83 with the Senators. (He was traded 17 games into the season from the Angels in the deal that brought California more offensive minded 3B Ken McMullen.) After that season, he was traded to Detroit in the Denny McLain deal and never came close to those offensive numbers. He led the AL in total zone runs (30) and TZR for 3B (27) in 1970. While leading the AL in assists in 1970 (377), in 1972, he led the AL in assists (348), putouts (150) and range factor (3.36). He would also lead the AL in range factor in 1975 (3.56) and in fielding percentage in 1976 (.978) and in 1978 (.987). From 1971-1979, Rodriguez was the Tigers primary 3B, playing in the 1972 ALCS against the Athletics. Showing his defensive only qualities, he went 0-16 in the series, as the A's went on to their first of three consecutive World Series victories. He would make three postseason appearances after his Tigers career, going 2-6 in the 1980 ALCS for the Yankees against the Royals. One appearance (no ABs) for the Yankees in the ALCS against the Athletics in 1981. However, he did go 5-12 in the Yankees loss in the 1981 World Series against the Dodgers. He also made two defensive appearances in the 1983 ALCS for the White Sox against the Orioles, ironically the team Rodriguez started the season with. The 1983 season was Aurelio's last in the major leagues, as he finished his MLB career where it started, in the Mexican League. Rodriguez was killed in 2000, as he was struck by a car as a pedestrian on a sidewalk in Detroit. Today would have been Aurelio's 65th birthday. He played in a time where consistent defense at 3B was appreciated. After the emergence of George Brett, Mike Schmidt, Pete Rose and Wade Boggs, the position became more of an offensive position. Yes, Brooks Robinson was a good hitter, but his defense was among the best ever. Players like Don Hoak, Clete Boyer, Graig Nettles and Ron Cey all won World Series being defensive first. Eddie Matthews was one of the few 3B who was known clearly for his offense, but did play very well in the field. It is safe to say though, none of the before mentioned was as little of an offensive fixture as Rodriguez. He hit .265 in 1977, but other than that never hit more than .254 in a full season. He finished his career with a .275 OBP and .626 OPS. It is hard to imagine a player with numbers like that getting a chance to play everyday for that long in MLB today.